"He clearly acted fraudulently in misrepresenting his qualifications to the SABC when applying for employment, including stating that he has passed matric," the group said on Wednesday.

It calls itself the Collective for Democracy and comprises the Pan Africanist Congress of Azania, the Freedom Front Plus, the African Christian Democratic Party, the Congress of the People, and the United Christian Democratic Party.

"We also call on the [communications] minister or the board to suspend Mr Motsoeneng pending disciplinary action and to fill the long vacant position of chief operations officer with a suitably qualified person urgently."

Madonsela found Motsoeneng irregularly and rapidly increased the salaries of various staff members, resulting in the state broadcaster footing an unprecedented salary bill escalation of R29-million.

He "unilaterally" increased the salaries of various staff members and certain freelancers without following parts of the SABC personnel regulations, Madonsela said in the report.

Complaints
Complaints against Motsoeneng were raised with Madonsela by former SABC staff, including former chief operations officer Charlotte Mampane and ex-SABC senior executive Phumelele Ntombela-Nzimande.

Motsoeneng was also investigated for fraudulently misrepresenting his qualifications to the SABC, including claiming he had passed matric when he applied for employment.

Madonsela said allegations that Motsoeneng committed fraud by stating in his application form that he had completed matric at Metsimantsho High School in QwaQwa were substantiated.

She said it was worrying that Motsoeneng's file had disappeared at the SABC while he denied falsifying his qualifications.